The 10 Most Beautiful Small Towns in France

While we love Paris in the summer when it sizzles or the winter when it drizzles, there's plenty more to see in France than just the capital. From wine country to the Alps, these small towns have beauty to rival any major city in the world.

Roussillon

Some cities are known for their connection to a specific color, like pink in Jaipur or white in Tel Aviv. Roussillon, sitting atop one of the world's largest ocher deposits, has plenty of the mineral's reddish hue on display on buildings and the dramatic cliffs nearby.

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Amiens

About an hour north of Paris, this town is known for its stunning Gothic cathedral. But beyond the showy architecture, you must visit les hortillonnages, a series of floating gardens you can explore via small boats on the surrounding canals.

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Cluny

Cluny's biggest draw is the tenth-century monastery that first gave the town its fame, and for good reason. Cluny Abbey contrasts beautifully with the long stretches of green farmland in the surrounding Burgundy countryside.

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Chamonix

Although Chamonix's proximity to Mont Blanc has made it a legendary skiing and climbing center, the town, with panoramic mountain views and rows of slant-roofed buildings, is lovely all year round.

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Annecy

Sometimes called "the Venice of Savoie," this lakeside Alpine town is treasured for its sloping hillsides and the small canals that wend their way through the streets. The small stone bridges over the canals make for perfect photo ops.

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Vouvant

Vouvant is nestled at the north end of a forest, which gives the town a fairy tale feel. Going here can feel like stepping back in time—the village still has some of the original fortifying walls around it, and a 14th-century bridge crosses the Loire River, which cuts through town.

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Bayeux

Bayeux is best known for the eleventh-century tapestry bearing its name, but it holds a special place in recent history as well, as it was the first town liberated by the Allies after they landed on Normandy beach in 1944. As a result, its appeal is a mix of the classic (the Norman-Gothic Bayeux Cathedral dominates the skyline) and the more contemporary (a somber, minimalist World War II cemetery).

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Eze

For a more subdued Riviera experience, bypass Nice and Cannes for Eze, whose rocky hillside location 1,400 feet above the sea makes for stunning views of the Mediterranean.

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Porquerolles

In Condé Nast Traveler's inaugural issue, we visited the Côte d’Azur gem of Île de Porquerolles, an island paradise that's also a small town. The good news: all these years later, the car-free island is still a blissful, peaceful paradise.

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Colmar

Picturesque Colmar has a section known as "Little Venice," thanks to the small canals that cut elegant lines past candy-colored houses. And locals aren't the only ones inspired by Colmar's beauty: some people believe the town was the model for Belle's village in Disney's Beauty and the Beast.